Join Art Papers virtually for Founding Stories: Oral Histories of Grassroots Atlanta, a decade-by-decade series of talks exploring the founding stories of a selection of Atlanta’s DIY and artist-run spaces.

Founders of some of Atlanta’s most beloved and remembered spaces will speak about how these organizations came into existence. Answering questions such as: What were the conditions that led to the founding of the space/project/organization? What was happening in Atlanta at that time? What goals did you set out to accomplish, and did you feel those goals were met? What can the current field of artist-run initiatives learn from this history?

Each talk will be moderated by a member of the community who experienced the initiative’s activities first-hand, and in several cases, who operated/participated in similar concurrent projects.

Saturday & Sunday, October 17-18, 2020

All panels hosted via Zoom. Free but registration required for each session. Registering for one session does not automatically register you for all sessions.

DAY ONE – OCTOBER 17 

Panel 1: 2010s

• Oct 17, 11:00 – 12:30pm
• Moderated by Brandon Sheats
• Panelists:
  Jordan Stubbs and Pastiche Lumumba (The LOW Museum of Contemporary Culture)
  Elizabeth Jarrett (Deer Bear Wolf)
  Willow Goldstein (The Bakery Atlanta)
  Tiffany LaTrice (TILA Studios)

Panel 2: 2000s

• Oct 17, 1:00 – 2:30pm
• Moderated by Felicia Feaster
• Panelists:
  Ann-Marie Manker (ArtSpot)
  James McConnell (Beep Beep Gallery)
  Joey Orr (Shed Space)
  Karen Fain (Apache Café)
  Brian Holcombe (Saltworks)

Panel 3: 1990s

• Oct 17, 3:00 – 4:30pm
• Moderated by Chad Radford
• Panelists:
  Rachel Pomberg (Eyedrum)
  Ed Woodham (800 East)
  Kelly Teasley (Young Blood Gallery)

DAY TWO – OCTOBER 18

Panel 4: 1980s

• Oct 18, 1:00 – 2:30pm
• Moderated by Lisa Tuttle
• Panelists:
  Jeff Mather (The Mattress Factory Group)
  Clark Brown (Blue Rat)
  Alice Lovelace (Arts Exchange)
  Normando Ismay (Little Beirut Art Space & Café Bizzoso)

Panel 5: 1970s

• Oct 18, 3:00 – 4:30pm
• Moderated by Dr. Candy Tate
• Panelists:
  Chip Simone (Nexus)
  Michael Lomax (Neighborhood Arts Center)

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This project made possible in large part by Emory University’s Stuart A. Rose Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library. This project is supported by Georgia Humanities, in partnership with the Georgia Department of Economic Development, through funding from the Georgia General Assembly.